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ABC with RFPs: Using Video to Win New Business

By Angie Lawing
Mercury Multimedia

Always Be Closing. Everyone likes to close deals. No one likes non-billable hours. But try winning new business without researching potential clients’ industries, brainstorming ideas and responding to a request for proposal.

The extra work and late nights spent preparing for a new business presentation are worth it to win new business. But no agency wins close to 100 percent of the new business pitches they make. If your agency wants to win more accounts, then consider adding a new element to your request for proposals: video.

Video is a valuable selling tool because it differentiates you. Sure public relations agencies know video, but using video to win a new account is, at least until now, an uncommon practice. It's just starting to catch on but its effect is simple: video helps close deals.

In an industry where agencies are hiring professionals exclusively for business development, who couldn’t use an extra push early in the sales cycle? Adding video to your request for proposal submission could make the difference between a contract and a rejection.

Landis Communications Inc., a mid-size public relations agency based in San Francisco, responded to a request for proposal from Whole Foods. Instead of just sending the usual mound of paperwork, they submitted a personalized video with team members introducing themselves and talking about why they were a good fit for the account. To set a playful tone, they included footage of one team member shopping at a local Whole Foods and added a music track. Everyone at Landis named their favorite items from the store and why they liked to shop there. They also talked about the relevant media they were familiar with and large blow-ups of similar print coverage for other clients filled the background. They won the Whole Foods account with a return on investment more than 30 times the cost of the video.

"Since the initial request for proposal process didn't allow for interviews, we were able to stand out from all the other request for proposals," said David Landis, president of Landis Communications Inc. "We won the Whole Foods business with that video." Within a month they won a second account, for Cold Stone Creamery, by using video.

Bill Orr, managing director at Manning Selvage & Lee, uses video to encapsulate strategic thinking and value in new business efforts. "When we really need to make a solid first impression, we use video to grab attention and then show a potential client that we understand their market," he said. Orr regularly shows videos during the request for proposal process to demonstrate the breadth of experience that his company can bring to a particular client.

One of the benefits of video is its ability to convey emotion and personality, unlike paperwork, which isn't playful or humorous. Research shows that people make business decisions based on emotion and then justify them with facts. Even when you present your agency's snappy presentation in person, it doesn't have the same dramatic effect of a well-produced video. And with video, you can compress a lot of information into a short, compelling format.

Darcy Harrison, vice president at Access Communications, admits that video is a powerful tool. "PowerPoint is static and can only go so far. If a picture can tell a thousand words, then video takes that to an entirely new level by telling a story and tapping an emotional element that pictures alone cannot reach," she said.

Access wanted to show CCT Boatphone the success they were having in disseminating CCT’s message, as well as encourage CCT to think beyond the traditional. They produced a video that highlighted the media hits they had scored for CCT as well as amusing film bits and sound bites. The final production was a tight, visually compelling piece that tapped into the imagination of their client. It was successful in getting them to think outside of the preconceived notion of what their public relations agency was doing and it helped them realize that they could, and needed to, do more. As a result, Access not only retained CCT, they also brought incremental income to the account as a result of the video.

So if video is so great, why isn't everyone using it to win business? Misconceptions about the costs and accessibility of video still persist. But today's technology really allows for smaller, lighter, faster and cheaper options for video production.

Case in point. The Whole Foods video cost Landis Communications Inc. less than $3,000 with a two-person crew and mini-DV camera. It took two hours to film over lunch, and the team never had to leave the office for taping or editing sessions. They downloaded the edited video to their desktop to review. Ten years ago it wasn’t possible to make production as affordable or easy.

I'm not suggesting that video is appropriate for every request for proposal or every new business situation. But it's definitely worth pursuing to give your agency an edge, something we all could use. If and when you do consider using video, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• As with any public relations initiative, knowing the key messages you want to convey is the first step.
• Video is a visual medium. Everyone likes to see movement and color. Show off past results. Show off your office space. 
• Think long-term. Capture everyone on camera even if they're not on the account team for the request for proposal. You might use that footage in a future video.
• Personalize it. What can you say, do or show that demonstrates something particular to that client?
• Interview their customers, if possible. Clients like to see people talking about their products and services.

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Angie Lawing is co-owner of Mercury Multimedia, an award-winning video production company. Mercury Multimedia has created thousands of videos to grab the attention of customers, partners, investors and media and compel them to action.